The Practice of Self Inquiry

Self-Inquiry stands on its own as a unique practice divorced from any affiliation with any single religious or spiritual path. It exists at the core of all religions and spiritual schools.

Put simply it is the looking to see what you already really are.

At the center of almost all spiritual, religious, and philosophical systems are a few key points-

1. The first is that you are not what you think you are. You have mistakenly taken on an identity (usually seen as limited) that is other than what you actually are.
2. All suffering and difficulty in life follows from misidentification.
3. The end of suffering is brought on by coming to know what you really are, and the ending of the wrong identification.

In other words, the source of suffering is a false idea about what you are, and the solution to that falseness is the truth of what you are. The inquiring into the truth of what you are takes two forms; one is "who am I?", and the other is "what am I?"

"Who am I?" is targeted on the ego. When in deep sleep we have no memories, no forms within our consciousness, and no ego. We have no personality structure. No mind. Upon awaking the first thought is what Ramana called the "I-thought." This initial recognition of individual existence restarts up the mechanical personality process and structure and the ego springs to life. "Who am I?" looks directly at this structure, it's origin, and at the self that is aware of that whole process.

"What am I?" targets the very nature of reality. By looking only at what is permanent, and not what changes, slowly the truth of reality gets uncovered. The obscurement of projections, identifications and attachment can be seen for what they are; impermanent, transient, and ultimately not what we actually are. There is a deep truth, a core of knowing that we exist, and are her, that is not subject to change or motion. It is that, that we are, and that is the target of the second stream of self-inquiry, "Who am I?"

These are some of the teachers I have found useful in this practice.

The stream of self-inquiry I most often utilize (and have found the most useful) is the stream of "What am I?" It's practice in terribly simple, if not easy.

First, we bear in mind the idea that since we are looking for what we really are, then we already are that. So, we are looking at ourselves rather than for ourselves. This is a subtle, but critical distinction.

Second, there is an unshakable knowing in you that you are. You may not be sure of anything else in your world, but of the raw fact that you exist there is never any doubt. That doubtless feeling is ever present, and has never changed. Look there. Whenever it occurs to you, feel what it feels like to be. Not to be where you are, or what you are doing, or what is occurring around you; but simply what it feels like to be. You are. You know it. That is the one thing you always know. Look there whenever you can, as often as possible.

Lastly, see this not as a practice in the sense of acquiring something, or making something better. Instead think of it as taking medicine, something you just do because you know it will work. Do not look for confirmation that anything is changing. The light of reality will do the work, on its own, with no help from you other than letting it in.

That's it. Terribly simple, but not easy.

The practice of self-inquiry gets you absolutely nothing. What it does do is eat away at the lie that I am something else, that I am this life. As that belief is dissolved, so is suffering.